Houston Public Library
Coping With Tragedy
Books For Younger Kids
Rodney Was A Tortoise
by Nan Forler

When her beloved pet tortoise, Rodney, dies, Bernadette feels all alone until a special friend helps her overcome her sadness, in this comforting and gently humorous picture book about bereavement and the power of friendship. 
I Am Smart, I Am Blessed, I Can Do Anything!
by Alissa Holder

A celebration of the power of a positive outlook, based on the viral video, finds young Ayaan waking up on the wrong side of the bed on a day of unexpected challenges and insecurities that he champions by remembering the supportive words of his loved ones.
My Monster And Me
by Nadiya Hussain

The Great British Baking Show winner and star of Nadiya’s Time to Eat draws on personal experiences with anxiety in the story of a little boy whose “worry monster” complicates his friendships and decisions, before a supportive family member offers comfort and counsel. 
The Whatifs
by Emily Kilgore

Cora, always bothered by the Whatifs, grows much more anxious before her piano recital but a fellow performer helps her imagine what could go right, rather than wrong. Includes author's note about her own anxiety
Grandad's Island
by Benji Davies

After entering through a secret door with his grandfather, Syd is astonished to find himself on the deck of a ship bound for an island in the distance, but his amazement turns to sadness when his Grandad tells him he has decided to stay on the island andSyd must journey back home without him
The Journey
by Francesca Sanna

In this beautiful new picture book, Francesca Sanna's interviews with refugee families in Europe become a searing parable of empathy and hope. Two young children and their mother must escape the dangers of war, but before them liesà a journey. Amidst border guards and nights in hiding, one family's determination and faith in one another carries them through a story of massive contemporary importance.
A Flood of Kindness
by 1951- Leventhal, Ellen

As Charlotte watches her home and town being destroyed in a flood she sadly laments her loss, but in the midst of her anguish she soon discovers the power of healing through kindness
The Treasure Box
by 1965- Keane, David

After her beloved grandpa passes away, a little girl learns how to continue the tradition of collecting treasures with the help of her Granny, who shows her that memories of time together are the greatest treasures of all. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations.
Splotch
by Gianna Marino

A laugh-out-loud story told in short phrases and mostly set in one room features a little boy who loves his pet fish and who is dismayed when he comes home one day to find a different fish in the bowl. By the creator of Meet Me at the Moon. 
Still Mine
by Jayne Pillemer

This comforting and reassuring picture book for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one shows how even though your heart hurts and you miss them, they are still there and yours to love, just in a different way. 
Fox At Night
by Corey R. Tabor

In his next I Can Read adventure, Fox—the hilarious trickster character featured in Geisel Award-winning Fox the Tiger—overcomes his fear of monsters when he meets real nocturnal animals. 
What The Road Said
by Cleo Wade

A picture book debut by the best-selling author of Heart Talk shares comforting verses about the questions we ask ourselves while on life’s journey, sharing reassurance about making mistakes, feeling afraid and finding the courage to keep going. 
Books for Older Kids
The Line Tender
by 1977- Allen, Kate

When a Great White shark appears in the water near in her sleepy Rockport community, triggering a devastating tragedy, a 12-year-old girl must pick up the work of her late marine-biologist mother to lift the cloud of grief hanging over her community. 
Hazel Bly And The Deep Blue Sea
by Ashley Herring Blake

Traumatized and facially scarred by the accident that ended a parent’s life, young Hazel joins other family members traveling for two years before settling in a Maine community, where an unlikely friend informs her about a local mermaid legend. 
Ghosted
by 1959- Fry, Michael

"Larry's got a few problems. In school, he's one of those kids who easily gets lost in the crowd. And Grimm, Larry's best friend in the whole world, has ghosted him. Literally. One minute Grimm was saving a cat in a tree during a lightning storm, and thenext, he's pulling pranks on Larry in his new ghostly form. When the two best friends realize that there's something keeping Grimm tethered to their world, they decide that finishing their Totally To-Do bucket list is the perfect way to help Grimm with his unfinished business. Pulling hilarious pranks and shenanigans may be easier with a ghostly best friend, but as Larry and Grimm brave the scares of seventh grade, they realize that saying goodbye might just be the scariest part of middle school"
Many Points Of Me
by Caroline Gertler

"Georgia Rosenbloom's father was a famous artist. His most well-known paintings were a series of asterisms--patterns of stars. There was supposed to be a fourth asterism, but Georgia's father died before he could paint it. Then Georgia finds a sketch herfather made of her. One with pencil points marked on the back--just like those in the asterism paintings. Could this finally be the proof that the last painting would have been of her?"
Clues To The Universe
by Christina Li

Told from their different points of view, aspiring rocket scientist Ro and introverted artist Benji become science class partners and unlikely friends, together setting out to build a rocket and search for Benji's long-lost father using clues in his favorite comic books series
Between The Lighthouse And You
by Michelle Lee

During the Tidings Festival on Aviles Island, a time where everyone in town can trade letters with loved ones who have died, Leo Mercury must protect the island’s traditions when a newcomer arrives. 30,000 first printing. 
Cress Watercress
by Gregory Maguire

Moving with her family to a basement unit of a rundown apartment oak when Papa does not come home one night, Cress wonders if a dead tree full of annoying neighbors, and no Papa, will ever be a place to call home.
Sunlight On The Snow Leopard
by Mary Pope Osborne

When the magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to Nepal where they must find a ghost—and save the world, they embark on a dangerous mission where their only clues are a mountain, an old man and a snow leopard. 
Karma Moon, Ghosthunter : Ghost Hunter
by Melissa Savage

"While in a haunted Colorado hotel for her father's ghost-hunting television series, Karma Moon must battle her anxiety, interpret the signs of the universe, and get footage of a real ghost--you know, the usual"
A Comb Of Wishes
by 1970- Stringfellow, Lisa

When she stumbles upon the ancient comb of the mermaid Ophidia, Kela gets one wish in exchange for the comb and wishes for her mother to be alive—a wish that will exact an even bigger price. .
The Shape Of Thunder
by Jasmine Warga

Estranged from the best friend whose brother killed her sister in a school shooting, a grieving Cora receives a message on her 12th birthday from her friend, asking for her help with creating a time portal to prevent the tragedy.
Pencilvania
by 1979- Watson, Stephanie

Budding artist Zora Webb becomes fraught after she draws a portrait of her sick mother who ends up dying the next day, an event that compels Zora to scribble out all the artwork she’s ever made, only to be transported to a magical world that’s home to everything she’s ever drawn, and where one drawing is determined to finish the destruction she started. 
 
City of Houston Houston Public Library
 
Follow Us!
Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr Pinterest